CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Sold by Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 125,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,860 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for 0.4% of Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $29,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.93.

CME Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $258.68 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $263.65. The company’s fifty day moving average is $242.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.